CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Syracuse fifth-year midfielder Jake Stevens earned Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Syracuse longstick midfielder Saam Olexo was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Stevens contributed a hat trick in No. 9/9 Syracuse's 14-13 win over No. 4/2 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, marking his first hat trick with the Orange. The Puslinch, Ontario, Canada, native scored what stood as the game-winning goal on a power play with 10 minutes to play. The fifth-year senior added another goal off a faceoff ground ball, one of his three loose balls while helping Syracuse win 22-of-31 faceoffs as a winger.
 
Olexo was crucial in Syracuse's upset win over Johns Hopkins on Saturday at the Crown Lacrosse Classic. He spent a majority of the game covering Hopkins' Russell Melendez, the Jays' third-leading point getter entering the game, holding him to just one shot on the day without a goal or an assist. The Annapolis, Maryland, native was crucial for the Orange in clearing, winning 71 percent of the game's faceoffs as a wingman, and forcing the Blue Jays into six failed clears (11-of-17, 64.7 percent).
 
All five ACC squads are ranked again this week in the latest USILA poll, with Notre Dame (2), Duke (3), Virginia (4), Syracuse (6) and North Carolina (17) all in the top 20.
 
2024 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week
Feb. 6 – Josh Zawada, Gr., A, Duke
Feb. 13 – Joey Spallina, So., A, Syracuse
Feb. 20 – Pat Kavanagh, Gr., A, Notre Dame; Payton Cormier, Gr., A, Virginia
Feb. 27 – Brennan O’Neill, Sr., A, Duke
March 5 – Josh Zawada, Gr., A, Duke; Devon McLane, Gr., M, Notre Dame
March 12 – Jake Stevens, Fifth Year, M, Syracuse
 
2024 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week
Feb. 6 – Jake Naso, Sr., FO, Duke
Feb. 13 – Mason Kohn, 5th, FO, Syracuse
Feb. 20 – Ben Wayer, Jr., LSM, Virginia
Feb. 27 – Matthew Nunes, Jr., G, Virginia
March 5 – Marco Napolitano, Gr., D, Notre Dame
March 12 – Saam Oleko, Sr., LSM, Syracuse